


The Reckoning of Oliver Queen

by orphan_account



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 18:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18255035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Oliver Queen receives a text from his ex-fiance to meet her at Palmer Technologies, he has no idea that what he will find will send him down a path of vengeance.Posterity Fic from my Revenant-Commander days.





	The Reckoning of Oliver Queen

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Arrow.
> 
> A/N: I wrote this after seeing the leaked photo of Laurel’s gravestone. This isn’t a very long one-shot simply because writing Olicified Oliver makes my skin crawl.

 

_Clang. Clang. Clang._ The repetitive sound of Oliver Queen climbing the salmon ladder that had been set up in the Bunker was the only sound as Oliver had taken to spending most of his time down here since the break-up with Felicity. Going back to the apartment that had been his sister’s and then his and Felicity’s was hard, as it was a reminder of Oliver’s attempt at normalcy. He still longed for that, but he wondered if he would ever find himself able to do so as long as the city needed the Green Arrow. He was aware of Felicity’s plan of making Palmer Tech the ‘beacon of hope’ for Star City, but he also knew plenty had tried to do that before (make their company and their public image a beacon of hope) and in the end, they had failed. Companies could be bought out; people could be killed; that was the reason to wear a mask. A mask was a symbol, incorruptible, everlasting, and anyone could take it up.

A buzzing sound from the nearby table distracted Oliver and after one last crunch, he let go and landed cat-like on his feet. Idly, he couldn’t help but notice he had more energy as of late, and he had managed to take on Thea, Laurel, and Dig during most of their training sessions. It was almost like he was his old self, with the added bonus of his training from Ra’s al Ghul (the real Ra’s, not Malcolm). Walking over to the table and toweling his face off, Oliver picked up his cell phone and looked at it in surprise. It was a text from Felicity, asking him to meet her at Palmer Tech. She wanted to see if they could at least move forward as friends and not be so estranged; Oliver had to admit, he was both gratified and surprised at this. Gratified because it meant he might have a chance at least rebuilding their friendship and, from there, opening the door to their relationship again further down the road, but surprised because Felicity had been her normal blunt self when she told him she needed time away from him, away from the Team, all of it.

**_*Arrow*_ **

“Felicity?” Oliver called as he made his way into the outer office where Felicity’s EA was normally positioned. Whoever it was had gone home; it looked like Felicity, much like Ray, had taken to staying in her office at all hours working on whatever wonder project she hoped would turn Palmer Tech into a beacon of hope for the citizens of Star City. Opening the glass door, Oliver noticed that Felicity’s chair was turned away from him, her legs visible as though she were relaxing in her chair, as she had in such a way so many times in the old Lair and the Bunker. As Oliver moved forward, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu, as if he had experienced this before. As he came around the desk from a wide angle so as not to spook her, Oliver felt his stomach curdle as he saw the three long shafts of black arrows sticking out, and as he stopped, he felt his heart freeze up. The arrows were pinning Felicity to her chair, her head lolled to one side. Set between the arrows was an envelope with a single word written on it: _Oliver_.

Hands trembling with both anger and grief, Oliver picked up the envelope and opened it, pulling out the one-page letter inside.

_I’m sure you thought it was Merlyn who killed your beloved Felicity, Kid. You once told me I had no sense of humor. I think this proves I do, though a cruel one. Now, you have a choice to make: Quentin Lance, beloved father figure and the last remaining patriarchal influence in your life, or Laurel Lance, the woman you loved and survived on an island for five years to return to. Captain Lance can be found in his precinct, Laurel in the Guggenheim Projects. April Fool’s, Kid._

Oliver crumpled the letter in his hand, eyes closing as he shoved down the grief and anger he was feeling, shoved it down to where he had always kept the emotions that weren’t useful in the moment. Slade was back with a vengeance, all of his cunning at work to dismantle Oliver’s life while Oliver also dealt with HIVE. It was in this moment Oliver realized the truth of what he once told Felicity: he could not be Oliver Queen and the Arrow (or the Green Arrow, for that matter). He had to choose one or the other. Opening his eyes, Oliver let the darkness flood in as he stared at Felicity’s lifeless body, allowed it to fill him at every pore.

There was no choice to make. He was the Green Arrow. As he exited the office, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to Diggle and Thea, telling them to go after Laurel. He’d get Captain Lance.

He never considered the possibility that Slade and Malcolm were working together. As he stood at Laurel’s grave a little over a week later and told Barry it was his responsibility to end it, to kill him, he was talking about Malcolm. When he heard Felicity tell him in the limousine, as if from beyond the grave, to kill the son of a bitch, he knew she was talking about Slade.

He would get them both, he would ensure justice was done for the women he had loved in his life, and he would be the symbol this city needed, even if it wasn’t the one it wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So there we go. The story was written to generally be in line with 4x18 if the leaked photo turned out to not be an ill-conceived prank (which I had hoped it was), but with my own twist so Olicity would never be a thing, either.


End file.
